Port: Parking plan 'the right thing to do'

Aug. 23, 2013

Port Parking Metro Friday August 23, 2013: Left to right Rick Greiwe speaks as Lydia Jacobs-Horton looks on during the Port Authority officials and board members unveiling a new parts to the plan at the Westin hotel Friday August 23, 2013 in Downtown, Cincinnati. The Enquirer/ Joseph Fuqua II / The Cincinnati Enquirer

Port Parking Metro Friday August 23, 2013: Cincinnati Vice Mayor Roxanne Qualls looks on as the Port authority officials and board members unveil new parts to the plan at the Westin hotel Friday August 23, 2013 in Downtown, Cincinnati. The Enquirer/ Joseph Fuqua II / The Cincinnati Enquirer

Port Parking Metro Friday August 23, 2013: Cincinnati mayoral candidate John Cranley ask a question during the Port Authority officials and board members unveiling a new parts to the plan at the Westin hotel Friday August 23, 2013 in Downtown, Cincinnati. The Enquirer/ Joseph Fuqua II / The Cincinnati Enquirer

Port Parking Metro Friday August 23, 2013: Laura Brunner, President and Chief Executive Officer at The Port of Greater Cincinnati Development Authority speaks during the Port Authority officials and board members unveiling a new parts to the plan at the Westin hotel Friday August 23, 2013 in Downtown, Cincinnati. The Enquirer/ Joseph Fuqua II / The Cincinnati Enquirer

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The Port of Greater Cincinnati Development Authority says it has addressed the public’s two main concerns about the parking-lease deal with the city over the past two months – and now it’s time to move forward with the plan.

The port authority announced Friday it has agreed to terms with Xerox, the private company that will operate the city’s meters. And officials say the 10-year deal eliminates any incentives for Xerox to aggressively enforce parking violations.

The port also officially announced it will not extend neighborhood meter-enforcement hours, details first reported by The Enquirer last week. Further, port officials say they’ve addressed another big concern by planning to make bond documents and contracts with Xerox and other companies available to the public.

As the port authority board’s 75-day, deal-vetting deadline looms Sept. 4, the port convened city, business and neighborhood leaders at the Downtown Westin hotel to announce the agency has neared the completion of its due-diligence process.

“At this point, a lot of the concerns people have had, now have been addressed,” said Vice Mayor Roxanne Qualls, a mayoral candidate. “The process worked.”

Now, the port authority is prepared to move forward with finalizing the Xerox contract and drafting bond documents for the deal, which calls for the city to receive between up to $92 million up-front and about $3 million annually. In exchange, the port and its private partners will control the city’s meters for 30 years and some garages for 50 years.

Still, a taxpayer lawsuit could at least delay the parking deal from moving forward.

Port board members, including two of the city’s most respected business leaders – Otto Budig and Tom Williams – said they now feel fully confident about the parking deal.

“Our goal was to be neutral and to think independently,” said Lynn Marmer, port board member and a vice president of Kroger. “Frankly, we were (initially) a little more skeptical than just neutral. We didn’t think our community deserved anything less than a hard look at this (deal).”

Marmer added, “Our board agrees: This is the right thing to do to further the growth of our city.”

Cranley: 'There are no details'

The deal still has its skeptics. Mayoral candidate John Cranley, among about 40 people who attended Friday’s announcement, continued to question to deal.

“The devil’s in the details, and there are no details,” Cranley said. “We need the operating terms and the bond terms. We don’t have either.”

The Xerox contract and a draft of the bond documents are expected to be made available for public review in a month, port officials said. The port board most likely would vote on the contracts and bond deal at its October meeting, or the board could call a special meeting in late September.

The port plans for a two-week public review process before voting.

Some citizens have been skeptical about the parking deal’s lack of transparency. In some cities where Xerox operates parking meters, the company has not been obligated to reveal its contracts and financial data because the parking system has been completely privatized. That has been a concern for citizens and city leaders in Indianapolis.

As an agency that receives city and county money, however, the Cincinnati port authority is subject to Ohio open-records laws.

“Everything will be put in front of the public,” Qualls said.

The Xerox contract has caused other concerns. Cranley says the Xerox deal should only be for 1 to 2 years, and other opponents have feared a long-term deal would give the port authority no flexibility if Xerox does a poor job.

The port said contracts with Xerox and other private operators in public-private deals typically range from 30-90 years.

The port authority and Xerox have two, 10-year mutual options for renewal. Other terms of the Xerox deal, according to port board member Lydia Jacobs-Horton of Procter & Gamble:

• The port scrutinized the original plan to pay Xerox an annual fixed fee of $5.2 million. The port says the fee will not be any higher, and there will be more flexibility in the cost based on parking needs. For example, if staffing needs to be decreased because of improved technology over time, the port authority and Xerox have the flexibility to adjust the fees.

• The port authority has the right to audit Xerox at any time.

• Xerox will have incentives built into the contract, but those will not be based on enforcement revenue.

• The port authority plans to review the Xerox’s performance quarterly and annually.

The goal of the port authority and its private partners is to run the parking system more efficiently. So more tickets naturally will be issued because the city’s parking system has been “undervalued, undermaintained and underenforced,” Marmer said.

Only about 29 percent of the city’s meters are regularly enforced, the port authority found.

“I don’t understand why people are so worried about enforcement, and why they don’t believe us,” Port authority President and CEO Laura Brunner said. “There is more money to be made by getting people to pay (their meters).

“If just 60 percent of the time the meters are paid, we could have zero ticket revenue and be ahead,” Brunner added. “But you can’t have zero enforcement, or people would stop putting money in the meters. And that’s the balance.”

Parking changes to begin in February

The plan is for parking-system changes to begin on Feb. 1, Brunner said. The first change will be extending Downtown meter-enforcement hours until 9 p.m., Monday through Saturday. In February and March, meter rates will be increased to 75 cents across Over-the-Rhine and neighborhoods. Enforcement hours also will be increased to 9 p.m. in OTR.

Neighborhood meter-enforcement hours will continue to be enforced until 6 p.m.

The port is considering a 2-4 week grace period in which it doesn’t plan to strictly enforce new parking restrictions so people can become accustomed to the system.

The port authority board asked for the vetting period when it signed the deal June 21, and the economic development agency still has until Sept. 4 to decide if it wants to move forward or terminate the deal.

The Ohio Supreme Court still is deciding whether to hear an appeal on a taxpayer lawsuit to stop the parking deal. The conservative group Citizens Opposed to Additional Spending and Taxes (COAST) also is threatening another lawsuit, claiming the city administration made material changes to the deal that should be subject to council approval.

City Council originally approved the parking lease deal in March. Council does not have the ability to change the deal, according to the lease agreement between the city and port authority.

The port authority board’s primary focus of the vetting process was to review the financial model, negotiate contract terms with the private partners and receive input from neighborhood and small-business leaders.

The port board has members from Kroger, P&G, GE Aviation and other top companies. The board called on representatives from Kroger, P&G, Western & Southern and other companies in town to review the financial model and help negotiate terms with Xerox.

Jacobs-Horton, P&G’s director of global facilities and real estate, helped facilitate talks with Xerox. P&G does business with Xerox.

The parking deal has been a contentious issue in the mayoral race. Cranley has argued the city – already facing major problems with its pension system – is risking future financial stability by selling off a valuable asset.

The city administration has said it wants to use most of the up-front money for job-creating projects that could help the city grow population.

“Our city should do this,” said Williams, a real estate developer and part owner of the Reds. “The private sector continues to pour millions into 3CDC and Uptown. Our city has also invested in these endeavors. But we all know our city needs to do so much more capital investment.”